Two of a Kind

Rage

The next morning Joyce awoke to the sound of Hopper coming home and laying next to her in bed. She felt too exhausted from crying the night before to wake up, but she wasn't left much of a choice.

Hop came in and kissed her forehead and as he pulled away, he asked, "Joyce? What's wrong? Have you been crying?" He noticed her puffy red eyelids and he was scared that it was bad news about the baby or that he had left Joyce alone for too long.

Joyce sighed and peeled her sore eyelids open to look at him. "Last night, yes. I'm kind of tired, though. I don't know if I have it in me to talk about what happened last night right now."

"What do you mean?" Hop asked. "What happened? C'mon Joyce, I'm worried." Joyce heard the concern in his voice and knew she couldn't leave him waiting. She reluctantly sat up in bed to tell him about the night before, disappointed to realize that it wasn't just a bad dream.

"Diane came over last night," she said.

"Wh— what? Like, my ex-wife?" Hop asked. He was genuinely confused.

"Yes, her. It was completely out of the blue. It was like eight o'clock at night and I heard a pounding at the door, and I didn't recognize her at first when I opened it, until she said who she was. So I invited her in and she took a ridiculous amount of time to get to the part where she told me why she had showed up here."

"Okay... and? Why did she?" Hopper seemed worried now. He wondered what could've happened that left Joyce to cry herself to sleep. He felt awful that he wasn't there for her.

"She wanted to tell me that you're a murderer."

Hop blinked in confusion. "Excuse me, WHAT?!"

"Yeah. Something about a bar fight. I didn't really believe her but her next psychotic claim proved that she had nothing true to say," Joyce continued.

"Dear God," said Hop. "What else did she say? I can't believe this."

"That you two were sleeping together again. She knew that you were at a hotel and said that you two were enjoying a comfy bed together or some crap like that."

"Okay, what the fuck?! Honestly? I- I don't even know what to say. What the hell happened to her that turned her into such a nutcase like this? And, wait... Did you believe her, Joyce? I mean if you were crying—"

"No, Hopper. I know that you would never. I even told her how you had always loved me and let her know that she was never your true love, because she really pissed me off. I think I cried because of the shock of the entire thing, plus my hormones. And I really missed you." Joyce's eyes started to fill with tears again as she spoke.

"Jesus. You should've called me. I would've come straight home and told her off myself," Hopper replied angrily. He seemed more shocked than Joyce was at his ex-wife's behavior and unexpected visit. Seeing Joyce beginning to cry again, he pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. He felt his heart clench in pain that Joyce was treated like that and had to go through it alone, and that she was still upset about it. He felt awful.

"I almost did, but it wasn't the type of conversation I wanted to have over the phone." Joyce sniffled, trying to pull herself together. "Besides, she didn't stay long. I just want to know how she knew where we lived and why she came all the way here from New York. And why she knew you were in a hotel..."

"I do too, and trust me I'll be figuring that out today. But— Joyce, I hope you know that none of it is true. I would never, EVER even think about cheating on you. I really hope you know that. I don't want anyone but you, Joyce." Hopper felt his eyes start to water too. He was heartbroken that his ex had hurt Joyce and he felt responsible for it.